George Caley
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For aviation pioneer see Sir George Cayley
George Caley (June 10, 1770 - May 23, 1829) was an English botanist and explorer in Australia.
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[edit] Early Life
The son of a horse-dealer, George Caley was born in the north of England (Jnl. and Proc. R.A.H.S., vol. XXV, p. 438). He was educated at the Free Grammar School at Manchester and was then taken into his father's stables. Coming across a volume on farriery he became interested in the herbs mentioned in prescriptions, and this led to his teaching himself botany. In March 1795 he wrote to Sir Joseph Banks who, after warning him about the small monetary rewards to be expected by a botanist for his labour, suggested that he might be able to obtain work for him as a gardener's labourer, which would give opportunities of increasing his knowledge. A position at Kew Gardens was obtained.
[edit] Australia
Following this he was given a free passage to Sydney, where he arrived on 15 April 1800. Banks gave him a salary as a botanical collector and he was allowed rations by the government. He was also given a cottage at Parramatta, and Governor King, writing to Banks in September 1800 mentioned that it was intended to establish a botanical garden near it. Caley sent many botanical and other specimens to Banks, and his letters also kept Banks informed of the general conditions of the colony apart from scientific matters. In 1801 he went with Lieutenant James Grant to Western Port, and in 1804 he gave King a long report on "A journey to ascertain the Limits or Boundaries of Vaccary Forest" (the Cowpastures). He was able to report on the wild cattle which he found considerably increased in numbers. In November 1804 Caley, with three convict assistants, attempted to cross the Blue Mountains along the northern edge of the Grose Valley. He managed to reach and ascend Mount Banks. However, upon being struck by the awe-inspiring views of the sheer cliffs of the Grose valley stretching away to the South, he decided to turn back, unaware he was only one days walk away from the western escarpment and the open country beyond. In October 1805 he visited Norfolk Island and went to Hobart at the end of November of the same year. In August 1808 Banks wrote to Caley offering him an annuity of £50 a year, and to release him from all services beyond what he voluntarily wished to perform.
[edit] Later Life
Caley returned to England in 1810 and some six years later was appointed curator of the botanic gardens, St Vincent, West Indies. He resigned this position in December 1822 and was back in England in the following May. He died on 23 May 1829. He had married in 1816 but his wife predeceased him without issue.
Both Banks and King found Caley difficult and at times tactless and unreasonable. He was, however, a good worker, a skilful and accurate botanist, and he was thoroughly honest and zealous. He published nothing, but his collections did much to spread a knowledge of Australian plants in the early years of the nineteenth century.
[edit] References
- Serle, Percival. (1949). "Caley, George". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus and Robertson.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain 1949 edition of Dictionary of Australian Biography from
Project Gutenberg of Australia, which is in the public domain in Australia and the United States of America.
